Treasure Appraisal Fair

"?" Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and rubbed his head, feeling rather puzzled.

What happened? Did I fall asleep? He looked at the sunlight streaming in through the dormitory window and felt that his mind seemed much clearer.

It was still early morning, while Wang Dong was sleeping soundly in her own bed.

Huo Yuhao frowned. He first used Spiritual Sharing to review the memories Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had stored within his spiritual clone, only to discover that nothing unusual had happened during this time. It seemed he had simply fallen asleep for the night.

Wang Dong was much the same. However, since it might have been her first time entering a state of deep sleep, she had slept through the entire night without waking.

Stop looking, child. I was the one who made you fall asleep yesterday. How was it? Did you sleep comfortably? An aged voice sounded from Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Sea.

As though he had anticipated what Huo Yuhao was about to ask, Electrolux continued, There must be a balance between work and rest. Proper relaxation is necessary as well. I trust you understand that.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. Naturally, he understood the reasoning and knew Electrolux had meant well. But Elder Yi, wasn't your method of helping someone relax a little too forceful?

Elder Yi, I still hope that if something like this happens again, you can tell me in advance.

Mm, I understand, Electrolux replied. He was somewhat exhausted as well. Huo Yuhao's sleep yesterday had not been ordinary sleep; rather, Electrolux had used his Divine Sense to mobilize Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Power.

He had made Huo Yuhao enter as unconscious a state as possible in order to achieve complete relaxation. Though it did not consume Electrolux's Divine Sense, it was still rather tiring for him.

"Whew, that sleep felt amazing. But why am I so hungry? Huo Yuhao, let's hurry and get lunch. If we're late, the cafeteria will close." Wang Dong stretched lazily as she spoke.

"Of course you're hungry. You slept for an entire day and night. Eat something first to tide yourself over."

Huo Yuhao took out a prepared simple meal from his Storage Soul Tool and handed it to Wang Dong.

"Huh?" Wang Dong froze at his words, then looked incredulously at the fading sunset outside the window.

"What did you say? I thought I'd only slept for an hour or two! Oh no, don't tell me you infected me with something!?"

"You're overthinking it. It's normal for your first time entering deep sleep. It lets your body and mind relax completely, which is extremely beneficial for relieving mental fatigue. It won't be like this afterward."

"Right, eat quickly. Once you're done, we have something important to do."

While eating, Wang Dong mumbled, "Something important? Isn't today a holiday?"

Huo Yuhao placed a gilded red invitation on the table. "It was supposed to be a holiday, but Shrek City is holding a Treasure Appraisal Fair and inviting Shrek Academy's Core Disciples to attend. Here, this is your invitation."

Wang Dong immediately sped up her eating and said, "Wow, really? I've heard of the Treasure Appraisal Fair. Apparently, Shrek Academy students even get discounts."

"Mm. Get ready once you're done eating. This event has a wealthy sponsor." Huo Yuhao said as he tidied his clothes.

"Huh? A wealthy sponsor? Who?" Wang Dong set down her half-finished lunch box and wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Someone you've met before. Ning Tian of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. She was the one who just told me the specifics of the Treasure Appraisal Fair."

"Huh? Did she take a liking to you or something?" Wang Dong abruptly became alert. "Those people from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect never do anything without profit. Don't let them fool you."

"Mm-hm." Huo Yuhao nodded. "I understand. You could say she took a liking to me, but only because she sees my future potential. I went out with her this afternoon for a brief discussion."

"The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Tang Sect do have some ties to begin with. She definitely wasn't trying to recruit me into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. At most, she wanted to become acquainted and earn a favor."

"Still, there's no harm in going. Let's go and broaden our horizons." More than anything else, what Huo Yuhao cared about this time was whether the Treasure Appraisal Fair sold pills and similar items.

With the Eye of Truth, pill refinement on the Douluo Continent was almost laughably simple to him.

The refining method for the Profound Water Pill was proof enough. Most of them were forcibly compounded from the powerful energy and medicinal properties of herbs and Soul Beast blood essence.

Rather than pills, they were better described as medicinal pellets. There was hardly any technical skill involved.

In Electrolux's words, it was a complete waste of natural treasures. With such a huge pile of ingredients, Electrolux could produce results ten times superior to the pills on the Douluo Continent.

Yet this was not without its benefits. Under Electrolux's guidance, Huo Yuhao could purify these crudely refined pills through Demonic Potion refinement techniques and turn them into Demonic Potions with better effects.

Though Electrolux was not a Demonic Potion master by trade, as the most talented Archmage in the history of the Holy Demon Continent, refining Demonic Potions naturally posed no difficulty for him.

Then there were Soul Tools. A chance to see so many Soul Tools on display was extraordinarily rare for Huo Yuhao. Naturally, he had to seize this opportunity to analyze the Soul Tool Core Arrays within them.

After Wang Dong finished eating and changed clothes, it was about time. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrived together at the gates of Shrek Academy, where they saw Ning Tian waiting for them with her two followers, Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er.

When she saw Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Wu Feng's eyes were filled with hostility, while Nanmen Yun'er's body was somewhat stiff. Clearly, she had been frightened by Huo Yuhao during the freshman tournament.

Huo Yuhao paid no attention to Wu Feng, that lesbian. Her strength was simply not worth mentioning in his eyes at present. He spoke directly to Ning Tian, the leader of the three. "Sorry. Matters related to cultivation delayed us for a while."

"It's fine. We only arrived not long ago as well. By the way, what about the other member of your team?"

"Xiao Xiao should still be seizing the chance to break through, so she probably won't be able to come." Huo Yuhao replied calmly. Xiao Xiao should currently be attempting to break through the bottleneck between Rank 28 and Rank 29.

For ordinary Soul Masters, all the Soul Power in their bodies could only be mobilized, circulated, and strengthened while in a meditative state. Breaking through a bottleneck was a trial every Soul Master had to face.

Naturally, they were nothing like Huo Yuhao, a cheater whose Soul Power circulated freely throughout his entire body and could steadily improve with Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's help. Thus, it was perfectly normal for ordinary Soul Masters to meditate for five or six hours when breaking through a bottleneck.

With that, the five of them headed together toward the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, where the Treasure Appraisal Fair was being held.

Along the way, Ning Tian noticed Wu Feng's hostility toward Huo Yuhao. Although she did not know where it came from, as the Young Sect Master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, she naturally gave Wu Feng a brief reprimand.

After all, she had invited Huo Yuhao to the Treasure Appraisal Fair in order to offer a favor and build connections, not to make an enemy. After that, Wu Feng restrained herself somewhat.

Shrek City, Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

This was one of the largest stores in Shrek City. It dealt in all kinds of items related to Soul Masters and Soul Engineers. Its overall structure was divided into four floors, covering a vast area. It stood more than twenty meters tall, resplendent in gold and jade, and its exterior resembled a treasure bowl.

"We're here." After entering the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, they were received by young girls who were only seventeen or eighteen years old yet possessed no Innate Soul Power.

All of these girls were sweet-faced and slender, dressed in long gowns that accentuated their figures and made them look graceful and alluring. Clearly, the Treasure Gathering Pavilion had spent considerable effort gathering them from among commoners and putting them through rigorous training.

The purpose of this was self-evident. One reason was to maintain the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's image, while the other was to use beauty to stimulate consumption among these hot-blooded, adolescent students of Shrek Academy.

After the five showed their invitations, one of the welcoming girls at the entrance soon smiled and guided them into the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

Upon reaching the second floor, they arrived at the exhibition area for this Treasure Appraisal Fair, which was specifically aimed at Core Disciples.

At the most eye-catching locations, display stands presented their items to the attending Core Disciples from the finest possible angles. Through the crystal-clear glass covers, everyone could see every exhibit within at a glance.

"Welcome, honored guests, to the Treasure Gathering Pavilion's Treasure Appraisal Fair. The five of you may browse freely. If you find an item you like, please register and purchase it on the west side of the second floor."

"If you need to assess your credit limit or discount, you may also make a unified inquiry on the west side."

They were all freshmen of Shrek Academy and were only second-year students now. Even Ning Tian, who came from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, had never participated in an assessment at the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

Thus, led by the welcoming girl, the five headed toward the western side of the second floor. The exhibits along the way were dazzling, leaving them barely able to take everything in.

Along the way, Huo Yuhao saw a huge display stand containing a golden-red Soul Bone floating in midair.

As expected, this Soul Bone should have been the one Huo Yuhao had spent a whopping 9.5 million Gold Soul Coins to buy for Wang Dong in the original story.

However, unlike in the original story, this Soul Bone did not seem particularly appealing to Wang Dong now. She showed no intense desire for it.

Is it because of that torso bone? Huo Yuhao made a guess based on the information he knew. In any case, it had nothing to do with him. No matter how his Soul Power affinity shifted, it would never lean toward the light attribute.

Still, Huo Yuhao had gained quite a lot along the way. Numerous Soul Tools had been placed on display stands.

To Huo Yuhao, who possessed the Eye of Truth, these Soul Tools were like naked bodies, completely exposed before his eyes. The structures of their Soul Tool Core Arrays were recorded one by one by the Eye of Truth.

Though he did not have the time or energy to interpret the structures of these Soul Tool Core Arrays for now, simply recording them placed little burden on him.

The lowest were Class 3 Soul Tools, while the highest even included design blueprints for Class 7 Soul Tools. Yet there was no difference between them to Huo Yuhao. Whether blueprints or Soul Tools, he recorded them all the same.

After walking nearly a hundred meters, the welcoming girl led the five to a counter at the end of the western side. A girl behind the counter stood and said respectfully, "Hello, five Soul Masters. Please fill out the assessment forms."

She then pushed five forms with fairly simple contents before them.

Unlike Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Nanmen Yun'er did not take the forms to fill out.

After all, the three of them were from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Naturally, they would not owe Shrek Academy too many favors over something like this.

Therefore, neither discounts nor credit limits were of any use to them. Compared to favors that were difficult to repay, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect did not lack money.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong filled out the forms normally. As a commoner, Huo Yuhao believed that resources in hand were what mattered most. As for how he obtained them, that was unimportant to him.

As for Wang Dong, she simply followed Huo Yuhao's lead. She did not want to waste her mind thinking about such matters. Although she was Tang San's daughter and nominally the Young Sect Master while at the Clear Sky Sect,

she had not actually received much training in the ways of sect relationships and social dealings. Or perhaps the Clear Sky Sect had never cared about such things at all.

After all, to the Clear Sky Sect, their absolute strength, their two powerful Sect Masters, and their ancestor Tang San were the foundations of their pride. As for social niceties? Other forces had always sought the favor of the Clear Sky Sect; the Clear Sky Sect had never needed to cater to other forces.

"Gentlemen, the assessment results for your credit limits and discount levels are ready." The girl at the counter spoke in a gentle and respectful tone.

At the same time, she placed two purple cards on the table. "Your assessment ratings are both purple, the highest rating available for students of your current year. Your credit limit is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, usable once per year. You will need to be reassessed next year."

"Additionally, with this card, you may enjoy a ten percent discount on any purchase at any time. Combined with the Treasure Appraisal Fair's internal discount, the prices are much cheaper than outside."

Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow and accepted the purple VIP card. Though he lacked the ultimate attribute and therefore did not possess the absurdly frightening privileges Huo Yuhao had in the original story,

he believed that the privileges he received this time should have been considerably lower than Wang Dong's. Whether in terms of his own Soul Power, his role as a Soul Master, or his usual performance at the academy, there was no way his assessment could be higher than Wang Dong's.

Is it simply because purple is the highest rating for this year, or is there another reason? The purple card rolled over and over between Huo Yuhao's fingers. He did not dwell on it, instead turning to Ning Tian and the other two, who had been waiting for some time.

"All right, everyone. Let's continue looking around the Treasure Appraisal Fair."